While searching through
the newspaper morgues of the Carroll County Historical Society in Westminster,
Maryland, I found this article in the August 19, 1839, issue of the Carroltonian,
a now-defunct publication.
The original article was credited to the Montrose,
Pennsylvania Spectator where it was published under the title "Food
for the Marvelous":
"Something like
a year ago, there was considerable talk about a strange animal said to
have been seen in the southwestern part of Bridgewater.
Although the individual
who described the animal persisted in declaring that he had seen it and
was at first considerably frightened at it, the story was heard and looked
upon more as food for the marvelous than as having any foundation in fact.
He represented the animal, as we have it through a third person, as having
the appearance of a child seven or eight years old although somewhat slimmer
and covered entirely with hair.
While picking berries he saw it walking
toward him erect and whistling like a person. After recovering from his
fright he is said to have pursued it, but it ran off with such speed,
whistling as it went, that he could not catch it..."
"The same or
a similar looking animal was seen in Silver Lake Township, about two weeks
since, by a boy some 16 years old. We had the story from the father of
the boy and afterward from the boy himself.
The boy was sent to work in
the backwoods near the New York state line. He took with him a gun and
was told by his father to shoot at anything he might see except persons
or cattle. After working awhile he heard some person, his little brother
he supposed, coming toward him whistling quite merrily.
He said it looked
like a human being, covered with black hair, about the size of his brother
who was six or seven years old. His gun was somewhere a little distance
off and he was very much frightened.
However, he got his gun and shot
at the animal, but trembled so that he could not hold it still. The strange
animal, just as his gun went off, stepped behind a tree and then went
off, whistling as before. The father said the boy came home very much
frightened....
Making due allowance
for frights and consequent exaggeration, an animal of singular appearance
has doubtless been seen. What it is or whence it came is of course yet
a mystery.
From the description, if an outang [sic] were known to be in
the country, we might think this to be it. As no such animal is known,
we shall leave the reader to conjecture for himself what it is without
vouching for the correctness of the story."
The Sasquatch has
been known to roar, yell, buzz and scream and now it seems he may also
whistle.
- ---
Jesse Glass is a Fortean researcher and the author of Ghosts and Legends
of Carroll County, Maryland, just hot off the presses from the Carroll
County Public Library.
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